Gujarat Police Bust 'Largest Marijuana Cultivation Case', Seize Cannabis Worth Over Rs 15 Crore

Surendranagar: Gujarat Police claimed to have busted “the largest case of marijuana cultivation” in Surendranagar. The Special Operations Group (SOG) has seized cannabis worth over Rs 15 crore within a span of a few hours for the first time in the history of the district, they said on Friday.

Officials said the SOG raided agricultural fields on the outskirts of Kaswali village in Sayla taluka, where marijuana plants were allegedly being grown under the cover of cotton and castor crops. The field belonged to Sanjay Bhopabhai Taviya, a resident of Kaswali village, they said.

“The raid continued for nearly 36 hours, and the SOG seized 550 green marijuana plants weighing 3,036 kg and 800 grams. The estimated market value of the seized plants is around Rs 15 crore 18 lakh 40 thousand,” police said.

In a similar action in the same area, police had seized 120 green marijuana plants that were allegedly cultivated under the guise of pigeon pea crops. “With these seizures, marijuana worth more than Rs 18 crore has been recovered in two separate incidents,” the SOG said.

In connection with the cases, the police arrested two accused, while further investigation is underway to ascertain the source of the seeds, the method used for cultivation, and the intended buyers of the illegal produce.

Following the seizure, Surendranagar District Police Chief Premsukh Delu hailed the police’s SOG team and announced rewards for the officers involved in the investigation.

“Efforts are on to identify any wider network linked to the cultivation and distribution of marijuana in the region,” he said.

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